


Letting Her Win

by Alisienna



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 23:16:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alisienna/pseuds/Alisienna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An expansion of the infamous "chess scene" from Dragon Age: Inquisition, featuring my canon Inquisitor, Asha Trevelyan. All credit for the original dialogue from the scene that I preserved here goes to Bioware.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letting Her Win

_This place is enchanted. It has to be,_ Asha thought to herself as she walked out onto her balcony, taking a break from reading the endless stack of reports from her advisors. The weather at Skyhold should be cold and unforgiving, since it was located deep in the Frostback Mountains. But it was unfailingly gorgeous, day in and day out. The air was crisp, but the sunlight always warmed her back when she would walk along the battlements or in the garden. And they had a _garden_. That shouldn’t be possible, but it was. It was a beautiful garden, too; it reminded Asha of the one at the Circle where she had spent so much time as a young mage.

Asha looked over the balcony down into the garden, and saw it wasn’t too crowded today. She could take a walk down there without bothering too many people, then. Asha didn’t mind being around other people, but it seemed that ever since she accepted the title of “Inquisitor,” people minded being around _her_. Or, more accurately, they felt they couldn’t be themselves around her. She pretended not to notice that adults stopped their conversation and the few children that were in the hold would stop their games as she walked by. Asha knew it wasn’t anything to do with her, not really; it was more about the Anchor and her position. Still, though, it was troubling. So she mostly kept to herself.

Asha made her way down stairs, managing to find the door to the garden without getting lost this time. The place was a veritable maze. They had been there for weeks now and she was still getting used to it. The garden smelled wonderful. The plants they had placed there were already beginning to bloom, the rapid pace of their growth more evidence in favor of enchanted ground. Asha closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could smell the exotic spiciness of embrium mixed with the simple sweetness of honeysuckle, with the honest smell of good, wet earth underlying it all.

Good-natured male laughter rang out from across the garden. Asha looked towards the sound and saw Dorian and Cullen sitting in the shade of one of the eaves, playing a game of chess. She smiled. It was good to see them both relaxing, Dorian from his fanatical research into the Venatori and the Elder One and Cullen from his duties leading the Inquisition’s armies. Asha starting walking towards them, interested to see how the game was progressing.

“Gloat all you like. I have this one,” Cullen said, confidently moving a piece on the board.

Dorian sat back in his chair, spreading his hands in feigned astonishment. “Are you _sassing_ me, Commander?” A wry grin spread across his face. “I didn’t know you had it in you!”

Cullen shook his head, also grinning but trying not to show it. “Why do I even – Inquisitor!” He shot to his feet as Asha approached, clumsily knocking over one or two of the pieces on his side of the board.

Dorian chuckled. “Leaving, are you? Does this mean I win?” Cullen glared at him as he sat back down.

 _Damnit. I shouldn’t have come over. I’ve ruined their game._ Out loud she said, “Please, don’t stop on my account.”

Cullen turned back to the board, ever the soldier following orders. “All right,” he said to Dorian, leaning forward slighting in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of his  chin. “Your move.”

Dorian, still grinning, waved a hand over the board and moved a piece. “You should come to terms with my inevitable victory. You’ll feel much better.”

“Really?” Cullen said with a small laugh. He moved another piece and sat back triumphantly. “Because I’ve just won. And I feel fine.” He grinned at Dorian.

“Pfft.” Dorian made a frustrated noise as he studied the board and saw that he had indeed lost. He stood. “Don’t get smug,” he said to Cullen as he turned to leave. “There will be no living with you.” Asha watched him swagger away, still confident in himself even in defeat. She glanced back at Cullen and found him staring at her. She felt that familiar heat rise back to her cheeks under his gaze.

“I should return to my duties as well,” he said softly. “Unless…you would care for a game?” Hope touched his features, even though she could tell he was trying to hide it. Asha was flattered. He wanted to spend time with her? Playing games?

How could she refuse?

“Prepare the board, Commander,” she said with more confidence than she felt. Cullen smiled and began resetting the pieces as she sat down in the chair Dorian had recently vacated.

Cullen finished setting up the board and adjusted his position in his chair. _Is he fidgeting?_ Asha wondered. Suddenly the thought occurred to her that he was just as nervous as she was.

“As a child I played this with my sister. She would get this stuck-up grin on her face when she won – which was all the time.” He was speaking quickly, barely pausing to take a breath. “My brother and I practiced together for weeks…the look on her face when I finally beat her!” His face was suddenly wistful, brow furrowed, eyes looking down. “Between serving with the Templars and the Inquisition, I haven’t seen them in years. I wonder if she still plays.” He reached forward and made his first move.

 “You have siblings?”

“Two sisters and a brother,” he replied.

“Where are they now?” Asha asked as she made her own opening move. Hopefully, she wouldn’t embarrass herself. She hadn’t played in years, not since Ser Oswyn…She smiled faintly at his memory, and then made herself return her attention to the man in front of her.

“They moved to South Reach after the blight. I do not write to them as often as I should.” He studied the board, seemingly uninterested in looking at her. “Ah, it’s my turn.” He reached out and moved a pawn. It was not exactly a bold move, but Asha saw how it could lead to a cunning strategy later. She grinned. Maybe she wouldn’t embarrass herself after all.

“Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.” Asha moved one of her knights into position, threatening Cullen’s queen. It was early for that, but she needed to how he reacted. Cullen saw her intention and grinned back, his eyes flicking up from the board to her face as he moved another pawn to intercept.

“Where did you learn to play?” he asked, eyes finally meeting hers.

“It’s a similar story to yours, actually. I had an older brother who taught me as a child.”

“Before you were taken to the Circle?”

“Yes. I was older than most children when my magic manifested itself. I remember much of my life before at my family’s estate.”

Cullen’s expression was soft. “Oh. That must have been hard for you.”

“It was. I was angry for a long time. But that faded.” Asha looked back at the board. “There was a Templar who was…kind to me. That helped.” She made the first in a series of moves that would allow her to trap his king, if everything went according to plan. “Your turn.”

“Ah, so it is.” Cullen stared at the board as well. “So you were friends with a Templar? Was that not forbidden at your Circle?”

Asha sighed. “It was, technically. There hadn’t been much trouble between the mages and the Templars at Ostwick in the past, so the rules were more relaxed than I have heard they are in other Circles.” She looked up. Cullen was watching her again, and she smiled softly at him. “He was like a father to me. He broke several rules on my behalf, including carrying letters to my brother. It made the transition easier, at least a little bit.”

Cullen cocked his head to one side as he watched her face. “Where is he now?”

Asha looked down at her hands where she had clasped them in her lap. “He died. At Kirkwall.”

Cullen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Kirkwall? What was his name?”

“Oswyn.” Asha’s voice caught. She hadn’t said his name aloud since she had learned of his death. Probably longer than that.

“Oh! Yes! I knew him, but not for long. He was a good man. An excellent Templar.” Cullen cleared his throat. “I am very sorry. His loss must have been…hard,” he said gently. Asha gave him a faint smile.

“It was a while ago. I’ve gotten past it. But thank you.” Asha frowned at the board. “Is it my turn?”

“Oh. Yes.” Cullen cleared his throat and adjusted his position in his chair again. “So we’ve talked about my experiences of the Circles as a Templar. What about you? What was it like growing up a mage?”

Asha moved her next piece and motioned for him to take his turn as she spoke. “Well, all things considered, it wasn’t that bad. I enjoyed learning. My teachers were hard on me, but that made me want to do well. I had friends. I kept busy. When the rebellions began, I was studying elemental magic and researching new applications under one of the Senior Enchanters. It was rewarding work.”

“I always wondered if the mages felt their time was well-spent. Sometimes, I thought maybe they would be of more use outside the Circles.”

“Well, some of us certainly can be, and some _were_ useful outside the walls of the Circle. But I was content, for the most part. After some…rough patches in my adolescence, I found that I would be happy living in the Circle, if I let myself be.”

“Rough patches?” Cullen asked with a grin.

Asha returned his smile, but hers was touched with sadness. She tugged on the neckline of her shirt, making sure the stiff collar was still in place. “Yes. Let’s leave it at that.” She moved another piece on the board. So far, he was either unaware of her trap, or letting her play it out, she wasn’t sure which.

Cullen considered the board for a bare moment, then moved another piece. Asha frowned. _Is he even paying attention?_ Her head jerked up when he spoke again.

“This may be the longest we’ve gone without discussing the Inquisition – or related matters.” He leaned to the side, resting one elbow on the arm of his chair. His eyes met hers, suddenly intense. “To be honest, I appreciate the distraction.”

Asha returned his gaze with equal intensity. She would be damned if _she_ was going to let him fluster her – again. He broke eye contact first, looking down at the board. She moved another piece without looking down. “We should spend more time together.”

Now his head jerked up at her response, eyes wide, a slow grin twitching up the right side of his mouth. “I would like that,” he said slowly, tentatively. Asha lost herself in his gold-brown eyes, and accidentally said the first thing that came to mind.

“Me too.” _Damnit._ She looked down at the board quickly, trying to hide the flush of embarrassment she could feel spreading up from underneath her collar. She grimaced when she heard him chuckling.

“You said that.” Cullen’s voice was soft, colored with amusement and something else she couldn’t quite place. Disbelief? There was a long pause where Asha refused to look up again, pretending to strategize. Cullen cleared his throat again. “We should finish our game, right? My turn?”

Asha nodded and propped one elbow on the table. She leaned over and rubbed her forehead with her hand, still looking fastidiously at the game pieces. Cullen reached out and made another move. He was still either unaware of her strategy or simply playing into it. She didn’t take him for a fool, so she suspected it was the latter. Asha reached out and made her final move, capturing Cullen’s queen and trapping his king.

Cullen reached out and tipped over his king, then spread his hand in gracious acceptance of her victory. “I believe this one is yours. Well played.” He sat back in his chair. “We shall have to try again sometime.”

Asha narrowed her eyes at him. “Yes, we will. And next time, you don’t have to let me win.” She grinned at his look of astonishment at being caught in his game. She rose gracefully from the chair and bowed to him slightly. “Thank you for the distraction. Good afternoon, Commander.”

 


End file.
